We made dessert first as it should be!

Did you know in France whole rabbits are sold with their heads still on the carcass, the reason is, during the war when food was scarce the butchers sometimes sold cats as rabbits. The practice is not necessary now but is still done as tradition. We met our chef, Emily at the open market this morning and she took us all through the market educating us about foods, letting us decide what we wanted to cook. We learned melons are ripe when you see some cracking around the stems, dill, parsley and other such herbs should stand erect when you hold them up, to determine if fish is fresh within 24 to 48 hrs. The skin should be slimey but firm and the eyes should be clear. There are only 56 cheeses protected by the government. After gathering all the food we walked a short distance to the cooking school, there we had coffee and tea while Emily set up for our lesson.  When we started each of us were given a duty and sometimes multiple duties. As things began to cook the smells became incredible, it wasn't long before we were sitting down for cheese, bread, wine and salad.  Then the main course of rabbit and roasted vegetables. Our dessert was figs and biscuits. It was a devine meal with wonderful lessons about cooking and food. After our lesson we were each given a "La Cuisine Paris" apron to take home.  

Our lesson concluded about 2 pm, Sue and Renee headed to the Louvre and the rest of us set out to find the catacombs. After many miles and ending up in a homeless camp we decided to give up the search and go to the Luxembourg gardens. We sat on the grass with the rest of the Parisians for awhile then decided

to really act like Parisans get some cheese, wine, and bread and sit by the Siene River for the evening. 

We leave Paris in the morning but we will take with us many wonderful memories of "the most visited city in the world"

WE WE we're in Pari'

We left Brugges behind us at 10 am this morning and arrived in Paris by train at 2 pm. We then took the metro ( no asking for directions) to Au Royal Cardinal Hotel. There we were held captive by the front desk man who insisted on a question and answer session for a half hour on Paris and informed us multiple times that Paris was the most visited city in the world. After we broke free from him we took the city bus to the Eiffel Tower and started our afternoon and evening of standing and waiting in line. If you ever want to punish someone for bad behavior make them stand on concrete for hours on end. Because "Paris is the most visited city in the world" everyone wants to see the Eiffel Tower at once I think. Of course once you got to the top the view is spectacular but looking at postcards is a lot less painful. Then we took a wonderful boat ride on the Siene. The structures along the river are breath taking and we timed the ride so just as we finished we were at the base of Eiffel Tower when it is lite up and sparking. So beautiful. Then we had to make our way back to our hotel after dark. A little more challenging, but we made it and finished our day at 11:00 pm with a delicious meal and a bottle of French wine.

Strolling and Boating in Brugges

We started today with Tammy bringing Melissa and Mary Belgium coffe in their room and then having a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. After strolling the streets we floated the canal and saw some beautiful buildings. We went into the Church of Our Lady and saw the only sculpture of Madonna done by Michaelangelo that is outside of Italy. The next very ornate church was St. Saviour's Cathedral which had beautiful stained glass windows and tombs in the floor. After all the churches it was time for a beer so we went to a local brewery called Die Halve Maan, the only local brewery left in Brugges. To work off the beer, Tammy, Joanne, Renee and Sue decided to climb 366 stairs to the top of the bell tower. Mary and Melissa didn't care to work off their beers so stayed below. Of course we had to buy some Belgian chocolate and Melissa bought a beautiful Belgian lace scarf for her dresser. Now we have gathered in one of our rooms and having a glass of wine to celebrate our day

Planes, Trains, and automobiles

After two movies, a little sleep, and some reading our 9 1/2 hour flight to Frankfurt was not half bad. When it came to train travel it was a good thing we were all women because it required multiple times of asking directions. The first train we had to ask several times until we felt that we were waiting on the right track for the right train. The second train we had a little better feel for how to figure things out and by the third train we were back to getting lost and having to back track to get to the right train. We have been traveling for 17 hrs so far and are still laughing and having a good time. After arriving in Brugges, Belgium at 8:45 pm local time we decided to take a cab to our hotel instead of walking and met a very nice driver  Tammy gave him a pin from North Pole, Ak. to share a bit of Alaska with Belgium. Dinner was at a little local Italian place called Carlitos, right across from our hotel Oud Huis de Peellaert, wonderful dinner to finish our day!

Day of take off

Six days before take off

We are getting down to the wire and the excitement and nervousness are setting in. The travel part is the exciting part, I have done enough of that to know how fun it is to experience new things. It is the physical part, the part that involves hiking over 110 miles in 12 days on uncertain terrain that has me nervous. I have done some pretty challenging hikes in the past six years but each year I get older I have to remind myself of how important the physical preparation is for each hike. I always think I should have done more but  then I remember the support and companionship of friends takes you where ever you want to go. There will be five wonderful strong women by my side so I say let the challenge begin!!

Day by Day Itinerary

Sept. 2, 2014 Leave Anchorage on Condor Air at 5:55 pm.
Sept. 3, Arrive Frankfurt, Germany at 1:45 pm. Take Eurorail from Frankfurt to Bruges, Belgium.
Sept 5, Take Eurorail from Bruges to Paris, France
Sept 6, Cooking class La Cuisine Paris "Market to Table"
Sept 7, Eurorail from Paris to Avignon
Sept 8, 9 mile hike
Sept 9, 4 mile hike
Sept 10, 10.5 mile hike
Sept 11, 9.5 mile hike
Sept 12, 8 mile hike, drive to Abby
Sept 13, 12 mile hike
Sept 14, Take Eurorail to Italy
Sept 15, 9.5 mile hike
Sept 16, 9.5 mile hike
Sept 17, 8 mile hike
Sept 18, 14 mile hike
Sept 19, 6.5 mile hike
Sept 20, 10 mile hike ending in Siena, Italy
Sept 21, Take Eurorail to Cortona
Sept 22, Cooking class Tuscan Culinary
Sept 23, Day trip to site see and shop
Sept 24, Take Eurorail from Italy to Frankfurt, Germany
Sept 25, Return to USA via Condor Air